


Keeping it Simple

by alba17



Series: Marvel Shipping Games Ficlets [10]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Crossover, Fluff, Gen, Science Bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 12:56:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2310362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alba17/pseuds/alba17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who stole Tony's World of Warcraft stuff? A Big Bang Theory fusion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keeping it Simple

**Author's Note:**

> Written for marvelshippinggames Bonus Round 1. Caveat: I know nothing about World of Warcraft. (Also this didn't come out shippy.)

The minute Pepper saw Tony’s face, she knew the brilliant physicist was in one of his famous moods. “What happened?”

He and his roommate Bruce hovered around Tony’s laptop, faces creased with consternation. 

“Oh hey, Pepper,” Bruce said. He raked a hand through his unruly curls. “Tell her, Tony.”

Tony pulled his attention from the computer and put his hands on his hips. “Someone made off with my World of Warcraft character! All my gold! My weapons! Do you know how long it took me to earn my place as the Mighty Gleneagle? Approximately 2,362 hours of gameplay, that’s how long.” 

Pepper and Bruce exchanged looks. When Tony got on the warpath, there was no telling how it would end. “Wow, that’s terrible,” Pepper said. “Is there anything you can do about it?”

“There might be, if we can find out the identity of the thief in real life,” Bruce said.

Tony started clacking full speed away at the keyboard. 

“Wait, that’s not going to do it.” Bruce pushed him out of the way and took over the keyboard.

“Bruce, Bruce.” Tony clucked. “The only way that’s going to work is if…”

Bruce held out his hand, presenting the monitor.

“Oh. Look. You did it. That’s only because I paved the way with that…thingamabob I did before,” Tony said. They both peered at the monitor. “Okay, it says the thief’s real life owner is Loki Laufeyson, 1232 Asgard Court, Pasadena. That’s only five minutes away! Let’s go.” Tony threw open the closet and dragged out his Iron Man suit. He had it half on before Bruce and Pepper rushed over to him. 

“Tony, let’s not go off half cocked. Let’s just try to be reasonable with the guy first,” Bruce said. “I’d rather deal with this in a calm fashion. I don’t want to get upset.” He pinned Tony with a look. “If you know what I mean.”

Tony looked at him for a minute and his body sagged like a popped balloon. “Oh, yeah. God, I’m sorry, Bruce, I wasn’t thinking.” He put a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “You’re right. We’ll go over and talk to the guy like reasonable grown-ups.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Pepper added. With these two, better to keep the temperature down.

They piled into Tony’s car, found Loki’s house, and spent ten minutes sitting there arguing about the best approach. “I think if we just ask for your stuff back, he might just give it to you. What’s there to lose?” Bruce said.

“Think about it, Tony,” Pepper said. “They say the best approach is the simplest.”

“Okay, okay.” Tony said. “But if it doesn’t work, if there’s any sign that he’s not going to cooperate, I’m getting the suit.” He’d stashed it in the trunk despite Bruce and Pepper’s protests.

They march up to the door. At the last minute, Tony ran back to the car and got one of his Iron Man gloves. Pepper and Bruce rolled their eyes, then nodded encouragingly to Tony, who hid the glove behind his back, then knocked loudly on the door.

“Who goes there?” a deep, gravelly voice intoned. 

“Is Loki Laufeyson there?” Tony asks.

“No Midgardians allowed.”

The three of them looked at each other with confused expressions. “Midgardians? What the…” Tony said.

The door abruptly opens. A tall, slender man wearing a green bathrobe and a gold turban greeted them. “Don’t mind him. That’s just Heimdall. He gets these ideas in his head, bit overprotective, you understand.”

A large dark-skinned man scowled in the background.

“Shoo!” the bathrobe-clad guy gestured to Heimdall, who obediently stomped off without another word. “I’m Loki, what can I do for you?”

Bruce and Tony exchanged a look. Tony said, “Okay, the deal is, you stole all my World of Warcraft stuff and I want it back. You can’t just go around stealing other people’s stuff.”

Loki leaned in the doorway with an arch expression. “I can’t? Who says?’

“Um. Me. Tony Stark. Brilliant physicist and er, friend and roommate of this guy, Dr. Bruce Banner. _Do you know who we are?”_ ”

Loki remained unimpressed. “Clearly not.”

“Are you going to give him back his stuff or not?” Bruce’s skin was beginning to turn slightly chartreuse. 

Loki leisurely examined his nails. “Probably not.”

An ominous rumbling erupted from deep within Bruce.

*

Later that night, the police received a call at 1232 Asgard Court, Pasadena, California. A neighbor witnessed an altercation between the residents, an eccentric couple that all agreed were barely tethered to reality, and - this was the part that didn’t make it into the police report - “a bright green monster clad only in rags and a flying red and gold robot shooting lasers.” Some also mentioned a pretty blonde woman sitting in a car texting and looking bored. In any case, the house was a smoking ruin by the time the police arrived.

*

“Well, at least Tony’s happy,” Pepper said to Bruce back at the boys’ apartment. Bruce lay on the sofa with his head in her lap, a beer nearby. Tony tapped away at his keyboard, looking delighted and extremely self-satisfied.


End file.
